THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER review: The Disney+ MCU show is the epic team-up fans have been waiting for

Two weeks after the finale of WandaVision, the Marvel universe of Disney+ show continues to roll out with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a six-episode action-packed blockbuster that brings the scope, humour, and drama of the best-loved MCU films to the small(er) screen.

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, the world is continuing to adjust to the return of half the population who had been removed from Earth by Thanos’ “Blip,” a plot to “heal” Earth by severely reducing the strain of mankind on the planet. Gone for five years, their reintroduction to society and their families is causing widespread confusion and unrest as they try to integrate back into the world.

Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) are both trying to navigate their place in the world after returning from the Blip. After refusing Captain America’s offer to take on the shield in Endgame, Falcon is struggling to maintain his home life and support his family — while he’s seen as a beloved hero and celebrity, he can’t even secure a bank loan in this new post-Blip world.

Now working for the Air Force, the first episode of the series opens with an incredible aerial battle as Falcon tries to stop a plane hijacking. Following the battle, Falcon is debriefed on a dangerous new militia known as The Flag Smashers, a Proud Boys-type underground organization that wants to go back to the Blip-era when billions of people had been vanquished.

Meanwhile, Bucky is still wracked with nightmares of his violent run as The Winter Soldier, during which HYDRA had brainwashed him into acting as an assassin on their behalf. Now a citizen following his pardon, he is being tightly monitored by the government as he goes about making “amends” for his acts as The Winter Soldier, which he uses as a cathartic tool to confront his former associates. He may be finally free of HYDRA’s mind-control, but he finds himself searching for a purpose in this new world.

The first episode of the show spends most of its time focused on Sam and Bucky’s personal lives and their difficulties re-integrating into society. While some fans may be chomping at the bit to see the two Captain America partners team back up again, it’s refreshing to take a step back and actually sit with these characters separately for a beat to see how the trauma of their experience with the Blip has affected their lives.

Bucky is puttering around Brooklyn, living a quiet existence and trying to get into the modern dating world (not easy for a man that was born before WWII), while Sam heads back to his family’s seafood business in New Orleans, only to realize how hard his sister Sarah (Adepero Oduye) has been struggling to keep the business afloat for the five years Sam was gone.

Director Kari Skogland manages the difficult tightrope act of balancing sincere dramatic character moments with elaborate and rousing action sequences in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It allows these two fan-favourite characters the chance to have their stories and personalities fleshed out in a way they were never afforded in the MCU films. The writing (including by head writer and show creator Malcolm Spellman) is also sharp — these are two well-rounded characters trying their best to manage the strange circumstances they find themselves in after saving the world from Thanos, only to return to Earth and struggle to maintain a semblance of a normal life.

Without getting into spoiler territory, the first episode hints at the overarching nemesis for the series, while throwing in a character curveball that should have viewers immediately heading into a Marvel Wikipedia deep-dive. Who deserves to carry the shield and wear the mantle of Captain America in a rapidly-changing world is something the series seems primed to tackle, a question that should have major ramifications for both Falcon and The Winter Soldier and the MCU at large.

It may be off to a slow-burning start, but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier looks set to be the epic tag-team adventure that MCU fans have been clamoring for. Following the beguiling and ultimately tragic WandaVision, this is a much more traditional show so far, but one that still treats its central characters with depth and respect. After the fairly forgettable Netflix run of Marvel shows, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier proves that the MCU can thrive on Disney+, just as it will eventually do again in theatres.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuts on Disney+ on Friday, March 19.